This invention relates to infant head and neck supports; and more particularly relates to a novel and improved self-supporting, flexible but firm, infant head and neck support.
Infant head supports are well known. All of the known devices are designed as a soft or passive support of an infant's head or neck. The infant head supports are designed to surround an infant's head with a cushion or head roll that is not permanently deformable. For instance U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,711 issued to Houghteling, discloses a head support device that supports the lateral sides of the infant's head from sudden movement or impact. Another example of infant head support is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,351 to Ive. This type of device provides a soft, pliable pad surrounding an infant's head.
It is therefore desirable to provide a deformable head and neck support for an infant which will not only protect the head and neck of an infant from sudden movement or impact but also retain a newborn's head and neck in a desired position and conform to all infant head sizes. Premature infants and newborns typically are placed in an infant carseat or stroller with an infant support pad inserted therein. Oftentimes, the infant will fall asleep and, since their neck muscles are not strong enough to hold up their head, the head will fall forward or to the side posing a risk of injury or suffocation to the infant.
There is therefore a need for an infant head and neck support that will retain a newborn's head and neck in a desired position while providing a flexible but firm, means of support that is conformable into different opening sizes according to the size of the infant's head.